FUSION is a non-concentrating, customisable optical surface technology for a production cost of less than US$0.01/W.

It
comprises micro lens structures that can be integrated directly into
the protective polymer or glass cover of a solar PV module, or into a
thin polymer film, which is then adhered to a solar PV panel either in
the factory or in the field.

The technology can be applied to any
type of solar PV panel (silicon, thin-film) with similar effect and low
production cost, SolOptics says.

In outdoor tests performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
at its Golden, Colorado, research campus, FUSION was show to increase
the overall energy production of the solar PV modules tested up to 4%,
with performance improvements for all irradiance ranges.

The
largest improvements, up to 40%, occurred for higher angles of incidence
under clear skies. This equates to even greater power output in the
afternoon and early evening hours. Furthermore, the addition of FUSION
did not raise the panel temperatures.

"The FUSION technology
significantly improved the energy yield of the PV modules we tested,"
says Bill Marion, Section Supervisor and Project Manager of the
Performance and Reliability R&D facility at NREL.

Genie Lens
CEO Seth Weiss adds: “The PV industry is seeing a meaningful shift away
from glass covers on panels and towards lower cost, lighter, highly
resilient polymer covers. FUSION can be incorporated into a polymer
cover for virtually no additional cost. At the same time, there are
millions of panels being manufactured or already deployed in the field
that have glass covers. FUSION will improve the efficiency of these
panels as well. We do not know of any other efficiency product that can
be applied to both new panels and in an after-market context.